Visit Santa Claus this Christmas

It's difficult to imagine a bigger Christmas treat than going to meet Santa in his home in Lapland. I'm not thinking of a fly-by-night, fake Lapland in the New Forest or West Midlands but the real Finnish Lapland, a frozen winter wonderland of deep snow and pine forests above the Arctic Circle.

You need to catch the children at the right, impressionable age, and it's expensive. So you're only likely to go once — and you therefore want to get it right.

With the wide choice of options available, it's easy to mess up. I've gone on two pre-Christmas Lapland trips and while one was magical, the other turned out to be a disaster.

Here's what you need to know:

Look for deals

Few families would regard flying the children out to Lapland in the run-up to Christmas as an essential holiday. Therefore, in these times of financial hardship, demand for Lapland trips has fallen and tour operators have reduced their programmes.

Even so, the holiday companies are still struggling to sell all their Lapland holidays for this December — and that means there are deals to be had.

Expect more discounts from companies — particularly if you leave booking until the very last minute.

When I took my family on a three-night break to Lapland a couple of years ago, the highlight for all of us was not in fact meeting Father Christmas.

More memorable were the snowmobile and husky-dog rides, the tobogganing in the deep, pristine snow and being somewhere so otherworldly, where in the middle of the day you get a blue-tinged twilight and where it's very cold.

To appreciate all this properly rather than fleetingly — and perhaps see the Northern Lights — you need to stay for a couple of nights or more.

Look for a less fancy resort

Rovaniemi, a small city with a Santa Claus village, has long been the heart of Finnish Lapland's Santa industry. But these days, most tour operators offer packages to less urban parts of Lapland, where you'll be better placed for the Arctic wilderness.

For example, Transun offers breaks to Karesuando, a picturesque one-hotel village on the Finnish/Swedish border.

Canterbury Travel suggests heading to the tiny ski resort of Luosto, on the edge of a national park, if you want things to be as uncommercial as possible. I stayed with my family in Saariselka which is a bigger resort but nonetheless charming and low-key.

Go when the kids are young

The mercury in December in Lapland can drop as low as minus 25C, though a mere minus 10C is more typical. You're looking at very challenging temperatures for babies and toddlers. Really little ones won't necessarily enjoy the more full-on activities, such as husky rides — and of course they won't remember a thing in years to come. ... On the other hand, if the children are over a certain age, they'll be knowing and blasé about the whole Father Christmas thing.

Taking all of the above into account, I'd say the optimum age is between five and eight.

Analyse carefully what's included in your package

Will you get a private audience with the big man in red? And will it be special? We were whisked off on a sledge to meet Santa and his elves in a hut in a forest.

Some holiday companies employ sleight of hand to get your child's Christmas wish-list to the great man, which he then produces at the right moment in a magical flourish.

Nordic Experience — a good bet for uncommercial Lapland trips — will even secretly arrange for your own pressie to end up with Santa.

Check exactly what other activities are covered in the package price. Some operators include things such as husky and snowmobile rides and some don't — and they're expensive.

With First Choice, a husky outing costs £88, or Dh503, per adult (£58, or Dh331, per child), and a snowmobile adventure will set you back £74, or Dh423, per adult (£50, or Dh286, per child).

Get well kitted out

All Lapland tour operators provide lists of what clothing to bring and what is provided (usually thermal Arctic suits and snow boots, thick socks and mittens but check).

I suggest taking thermal underwear, balaclavas or hats with ear flaps, and waterproof gloves thin enough to go underneath the mittens.

When you arrive in Lapland and are getting kitted out, it's all too easy to feel rushed and end up with wrong-sized gear.

Crucially, the boots need to be at least one size bigger than normal — the extra air inside them will serve as much-needed additional insulation.